Internal bleeding resulting from, for example, the progress of a disease or as a complication following surgery, may have serious health consequences. This bleeding may take place deep inside the body, for example, in the gastrointestinal tract (“GI tract”). Invasive surgery may be required to control such bleeding exposing the patient to the risks associated with such procedures. Thus, less invasive alternatives have been sought. For example, endoscopic procedures have been employed to treat bleeding within the GI tract and within various other body lumens. As would be understood by those skilled in the art, an endoscope is basically a hollow tube which is placed at a desired location within the body to facilitate access to target tissue via either a natural body orifice or a relatively small incision. The endoscope itself does not often carry out the required procedures, but is fitted with a lumen, or internal channel, permitting a user to insert medical devices therethrough and to control these devices from the proximal end of the endoscope using controls which remain outside the body.
Internal bleeding is often treated via hemostasis (i.e., stopping blood flow within a vessel by mechanically constricting the vessel). A common hemostasis technique involves the use of an elastic band, similar to a small rubber band, which is deployed via a deployment device adapted to fit on an endoscope around a portion of a blood vessel to prevent blood from flowing therethrough. In many applications, the band, which is formed of an elastic material, is applied to the blood vessel while stretched and, after being positioned around the vessel, is released to constrict to a reduced diameter to clamp the vessel and cause hemostasis. The person operating the device uses the endoscope to manipulate the deployment device and to position it at the desired location based, for example, on feedback from vision tools of the endoscope. The operator may also use the vision tools to evaluate the outcome of the procedure.